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Ravens
Ravens are a mundane bird common across Tirónar. They are most similar to the real-world "Common Raven" native to the northern hemisphere. These ravens actually have an extremely wide range of vocalization (meaning they have different sounds for different things, rather than one single distinct sound). Personality Mages who can speak with animals have discovered that ravens are extremely intelligent, with the ability to comprehend human speech and identify other non-ravens as friends or foes. They are extremely loyal to those they consider a friend and bear grudges that last for generations. In a specific example, almost every raven in Duilintinn ''hates ''The Enemy, and most are enthusiastically willing to aid any cause against him. Why ravens hate The Enemy so much is unknown, although some think it has something to do with The Enemy taking up residence within the Western Forest. Message Delivery Ravens are the fastest form of communication in all of Duilintinn. If you can find a willing raven, they will fly a message for you. However, ravens can only carry very short, light messages, approximately the size of a quarter-page of parchment at the most. Much like the telegraph, messages carried by raven are short, sometimes encoded, but make up for their length with the speed at which they can be delivered. Each outpost and garrison of The Watch, as well as every major city of Duilintinn, has a messenger tower with a rookery for this exact purpose. Raven Masters However, someone needs to take care of those ravens! This is where the Raven Master(s) come into play. These people manage the ravens’ daily care, train new members of the flock, tend to injured individuals, and facilitate the coming and going of any messages the ravens carry. Not only is this task extremely important for the continued functioning of The Watch, but Raven Masters are actually positions of remarkable power and influence. They are effectively a bottleneck through which all urgent correspondence must pass to enter or leave the outpost. Given to the wrong person, this role could be abused with catastrophic consequences. As a result, only very senior and universally trusted members of The Watch are given this task. In addition, both garrisons and many outposts employ multiple Raven Masters to keep the others in check and share the intense workload. In addition, unlike many other positions in The Watch, Raven Masters are permanently stationed at their post until their resignation, except under truly pressing circumstances. This means that they live at their outpost long-term, and cannot decide on a whim to deliver messages or attend to personal business elsewhere. The role is simply too important to go untended or risk a less-experienced substitute. For this reason, many Raven Masters are older, with no remaining obligations to a family (or other groups) outside of the watch. It’s not uncommon for extended family members to visit an outpost for a short period to spend time with their permanently stationed relative. Category:Flora and Fauna Category:Mundane Animals